Liberia

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Background: The 1995 Abuja Peace Accords ended seven years of civil warfare in Liberia. More than 20,000 of the estimated 33,000 factional fighters gave up their arms to the Cease-Fire Monitoring Group of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOMOG). Free and open presidential and legislative elections were held 19 July 1997; former faction leader, Charles TAYLOR, and his National Patriotic Party won overwhelming victories. The years of civil strife coupled with the flight of most business people disrupted formal economic activity. A short-lived armed clash in September 1998 between government forces and supporters of factional leader Roosevelt JOHNSON and continuing uncertainty about the security situation have slowed the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of the war-torn country. For two centuries the US has had uniquely close ties to Liberia and today is a major aid donor.

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Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone

Geographic coordinates: 6 30 N, 9 30 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 111,370 sq km
land: 96,320 sq km
water: 15,050 sq km

Area—comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
total: 1,585 km
border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km

Coastline: 579 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m

Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold

Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 3%
permanent pastures: 59%
forests and woodland: 18%
other: 19% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)

Environment—current issues: tropical rain forest subject to deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation

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Population: 2,923,725 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 656,101; female 649,389)
15-64 years: 52% (male 775,429; female 738,904)
65 years and over: 3% (male 50,126; female 53,776) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.92% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 41.49 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 11.03 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 18.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
note: evidence from UNHCR indicates Liberians are being repatriated

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 100.63 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 59.88 years
male: 57.2 years
female: 62.64 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.02 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Liberian(s)
adjective: Liberian

Ethnic groups: indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves)

Religions: traditional 70%, Muslim 20%, Christian 10%

Languages: English 20% (official), about 20 tribal languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 38.3%
male: 53.9%
female: 22.4% (1995 est.)
note: these figures are increasing because of the improving school system

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Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
conventional short form: Liberia

Data code: LI

Government type: republic

Capital: Monrovia

Administrative divisions: 13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, Sinoe

Independence: 26 July 1847

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)

Constitution: 6 January 1986

Legal system: dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (renewable); election last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA July 2001)
election results: Charles Ghankay TAYLOR elected president; percent of vote—Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (NPP) 75.3%, Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF (UP) 9.6%, Alhaji KROMAH (ALCOP) 4%, other 11.1%

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (26 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate—last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held in NA 2001); House of Representatives—last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held in NA 2001)
election results: Senate—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—NPP 21, UP 3, ALCOP 2; House of Representatives—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—NPP 49, UP 7, ALCOP 3, Alliance of Political Parties 2, UPP 2, LPP 1; note—the Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the LAP and the LUP

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
ruling party: National Patriotic Party or NPP [Charles Ghankay TAYLOR]
opposition party: All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [Alhaji KROMAH, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [George T. WASHINGTON, chairman]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [Cletus WOTORSON]; Liberian National Union or LINU [Henry MONIBA, chairman]; Liberian People's Party or LPP [Togba-Nah TIPOTEH, chairman]; Liberian Unification Party or LUP [Laveli SUPUWOOD]; National Democratic Party of Liberia or NDPL [Dr. George E. Saigbe BOLEY, chairman]; National Reformation Party or NRP [Martin SHERIF, chairman]; People's Democratic Party of Liberia or PDPL [Fiyah GBULIE, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Chea CHEAPOO, chairman]; Reformation Alliance Party or RAP [Henry Boimah FAHNBULLEH, chairman]; True Whig Party or TWP [Rudolph SHERMAN, chairman]; Unity Party or UP [Ellen JOHNSON-SIRLEAF, chairman]; United People's Party or UPP [Gabriel Baccus MATTHEWS, chairman]

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Rachel DIGGS
chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437
FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Donald PETTERSON
embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, Mamba Point, Monrovia
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [231] 226-370 through 226-382
FAX: [231] 226-148, 226-147

Flag description: 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag

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Economy—overview: A civil war in 1989-97 has destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Many businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Some returned during 1997. Many will not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. The democratically elected government, installed in August 1997, inherited massive international debts and currently relies on revenues from its maritime registry to provide the bulk of its foreign exchange earnings. The restoration of the infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy depends on the implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic policies of the new government, including the encouragement of foreign investment.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$2.8 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: NA%

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$1,000 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 30%
industry: 36%
services: 34%

Population below poverty line: 80%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 70%

Unemployment rate: 70%

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA

Industries: rubber processing, palm oil processing, diamonds

Industrial production growth rate: 0%

Electricity—production: 480 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 480 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber

Exports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports—commodities: diamonds, iron ore, rubber, timber, coffee

Exports—partners: Belgium, Norway, Ukraine, Singapore (1997)

Imports: $3.65 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Imports—commodities: fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; rice and other foodstuffs

Imports—partners: South Korea, Japan, Italy, Singapore (1997)

Debt—external: $2 billion (1997 est.)

Economic aid—recipient: $122.8 million (1995)

Currency: 1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1—1.0000 (officially fixed rate since 1940); market exchange rate: Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1—40 (December 1998), 50 (October 1995), 7 (January 1992); market rate floats against the US dollar

Fiscal year: calendar year

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Telephones: fewer than 25,000 (1998 est.)

Telephone system: telephone and telegraph service via microwave radio relay network; main center is Monrovia
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station—1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 10, shortwave 0
note: two of the FM radio stations are limited to a small area

Radios: 675,000 (1995 est.); note—10,000 windup radios were distributed in the country prior to the 1997 election

Television broadcast stations: 1 (in addition, there are four low-power repeaters; the station is located in Monrovia) (1997)

Televisions: 56,000 (1995 est.)

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Railways:
total: 480 km (328 km single track); note—three rail systems owned and operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with the Liberian Government; one of these, the Lamco Railroad, closed in 1989 after iron ore production ceased; the other two were shut down by the civil war; large sections of the rail lines have been dismantled; approximately 60 km of railroad track was exported for scrap
standard gauge: NA km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: NA km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
total: 10,037 km (there is major deterioration on all highways due to lack of maintenance since the civil war began)
paved: 603 km
unpaved: 9,434 km (1996 est.)

Ports and harbors: Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia

Merchant marine:
total: 1,651 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 59,804,012 GRT/96,650,752 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 4, bulk 408, cargo 106, chemical tanker 176, combination bulk 25, combination ore/oil 50, container 193, liquefied gas tanker 89, multifunction large-load carrier 2, oil tanker 413, passenger 37, refrigerated cargo 69, roll-on/roll-off cargo 19, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 45
note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 54 countries among which are Germany 186, US 161, Norway 142, Greece 144, Japan 124, Hong Kong 100, China 53, UK 32, Singapore 39, and Monaco 38 (1998 est.)

Airports: 45 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 35 (1998 est.)

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Military branches: Army, Air Force, Navy

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 667,032 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 356,825 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $1.4 million (1998)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 2% (1998)

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Disputes—international: none

Illicit drugs: increasingly a transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets